Unhappy
by Swasson
Summary: Not everyone can have a happy Valentine's Day.


_A/N: I can expand on this if you would like me to. Just alert it and let me know._

Love is patient and love is kind, love does not envy or boast; love is not arrogant or rude, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

Emmett only wished that this were the case with his wife. As he stood in the lonely parking lot, he wished so desperately that this were true! Perhaps it was true. Maybe he and his wife were just having a rough time, and they just needed to sort things out? He loved her dearly, and if they were to divorce, he wasn't so sure he could handle it. Divorcing on fucking Valentine's day, of all stupid days! Christmas would have been bad. His birthday would have been worse. But on a day of love like this? This was just cruel.

He looked down at his feet and suddenly he found himself walking into the building where she worked. They hadn't worked at the same firm in months, not since she walked in on him with his secretary. They hadn't even slept in the same bed since that happened, and he was surprised that she hadn't taken the children and left right then and there. She had told him that they would work this out, it was clearly her fault that he had cheated on her, right? So she would find out what made him do it, and she would fix it. Truth was that Emmett didn't know why he had done it.

So far, he'd just fired the secretary. That didn't mean he had stopped.

"Carol, where is my wife?" he asked the receptionist at the front desk of "The Law Offices of Edwards, Schultz, and Forrest." He was shocked when she was made a partner AT her interview when it took him years to get that! He had to start his OWN firm to get that.

"She told me to tell you that she's in a meeting, Mr. Forrest..." Carol had never been too bright. "But she said that she would be home to pick the kids up at school?"

"Carol..."

"Yes, Mr. Forrest?"

"Where is my wife?"

"In her office..."

"Thank you, Carol." He shook his head as he walked into the door that led to the waiting lobby. There were sad soon-to-be divorcees and women who were being abused and people who wanted to make wills and pre-nups. They were obviously very busy. He did not care.

"Forrest, comma, Elle," he said to himself as he approached her office. Her name was in a pretty cursive script, and of course it had been engraved with pink. Ten years and she hadn't changed a bit. He placed his hand on the doorknob, and opened the door.

Elle was on the phone, and she was smiling, that is, until she noticed that Emmett had entered the room. She turned away from him and returned her attention to the phone. "Excuse me, Mr. Martin. I'm afraid I'll have to call you back. Yes, yes. I will have my assistant forward you everything you'll need to press charges. Okay, thank you very much for calling me back. Uh-huh, goodbye." She put the phone back on the receiver. "What do you want?"

He placed the roses he purchased for her before he got there on her desk. "Elle, you are still my wife and I would appreciate it if you would treat me with some-"

"Don't you dare say respect, Emmett Forrest," she snapped as she pointed a french tip in his direction. Her wedding ring sparkled as the fluorescent lights bounced off of it.

"I would appreciate it if you wouldn't speak to me as though doing so is turning your insides to stone. Please. It's Valentine's Day, and I intend to spend it with my wife, whether she wants me to or not." She rolled her eyes and started typing on her computer. "Elle, I'm speaking to you. Could you turn off your computer?"

"Uhh, no? I could really care less what day it was, and just because it's Valentine's Day doesn't mean that you're miraculously going to fall back in love with me."

"I never fell out of love with you, Elle."

She scoffed.

"I am serious, damnit! I still love you! I've never stopped loving you! And I don't think that you're ever going to believe me. I really don't want to give up fighting for you, but you clearly don't want me to. Maybe we should divorce! Would that make you happy? Would divorcing me make you happy, Elle? What about kids?"

"Emmett, you are the governor of Boston. Divorcing you would ruin your political career. I'm not going to do that to you and I'm not going to do that to them. I will not let this affect them. Our marriage is our business, not our children's."

Emmett sighed and shoved his hands deeper into his pockets. "So, what, Elle? We're just going to suffer in an unhappy marraige?"

"Who's suffering?"

"I am! I can't hold you and kiss you and make love you! You won't even let me touch you at all!"

"I think you're pretty fucking lucky that I am even still HERE, Emmett, and you're damn lucky that no one found out about your little affair. That can change real quick. I didn't pay that bitch to keep quiet for nothing. If I can pay her to shut up, I can pay her to tell the press. Clearly, I still love you, and if I didn't I sure as hell wouldn't be trying to protect your career."

Emmett's face softened. "You still love me?"

"Yes."

"So why are we still fighting?"

"Because I can't bring myself to forgive you for what you did to me and the kids. You could have ruined their lives if I hadn't been so understanding. You don't deserve my forgiveness, but so much of me wants to forgive you."

"So why don't you? Why can't you? I just want to have a loving wife again, Elle. You mean so much to me."

These next words literally broke Emmett's heart. "Not everything has a happy ending, Emmett."

"Well, then." He cleared his throat. "Happy Valentine's Day, Elle. I hope you enjoy the roses. I know they're not your favorite, but I couldn't find any lilies brilliant enough to give to you. Um, I'll be home for dinner. Maybe I'll cook tonight; give you a break. Uh, I love you. I'll see you at home."

Elle sighed heavily once he walked out of her office. "I love you, too, Emmett."


End file.
